


Return

by Blink_Blue



Series: Synchronicity [7]
Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Angst, Dysfunctional Relationships, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-19 16:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11901180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blink_Blue/pseuds/Blink_Blue
Summary: An epilogue of sorts. The bittersweet return to normality.





	Return

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure many of you didn't like the turn this series took. But for me, I love it because it's so typical given who these characters are. Dennis takes what he wants, he always has. If there's something he doesn't like about Mac, he'll go to any length to change it. And Mac... that boy lets all the bad aspects of life just roll right off of him. His denial is so strong, that he'll literally twist his mind to believe anything in his favor.
> 
> And fuck if that isn't that the tragedy of it all that draws me in.

Dennis freezes when he steps into Paddy’s and sees the last person he’d been expecting sitting at the bar. 

“Hey, dude!”

Dennis stares, still frozen in place as Mac gives him a wave and grin. The rest of the gang is there as well, though no one looks as joyous as Mac. It’s been three days since Dennis had seen him, and far too long since Mac had smiled at him like he is now. The last time they spoke, Dennis was fairly certain Mac hated his guts. So he’s not quite sure what to expect from this sudden turn of events.

“Mac,” Dennis hesitantly steps closer to the bar. “What uh… what’s going on?”

Mac sets down his beer and Dennis can’t help but eye the half dozen empty bottles in front of him. “Hm?”

Dennis frowns. “Aren’t you pissed at me?”

Mac snorts and pulls a face. “What? No, I’m not pissed at you. Why would I be pissed?”

Dennis gapes for a moment before he finds his words. “Because… because you grabbed your shit and stormed out on me. Because I haven’t seen you in days, Mac. Because… you’ve been ignoring my texts and calls!”

Mac swings around on his barstool and sighs. “Look, I just needed some space, alright? Come on, I just went through a breakup.” He shrugs and gives Dennis lopsided grin. “I just needed to go on a bender and chill, you know?”

Dennis continues to stare in confusion. _“What?”_

“Look, we’re cool,” Mac says, sounding exasperated. “Don’t worry about it, dude.”

Behind Mac, Dennis catches Charlie roll his eyes but chooses not to mention it. “We’re… we’re cool? What, just like that?”

“Yeah, dude. Look, I overreacted,” Mac chuckles. “And you know what… I’ve been thinking about it… and I _definitely_ remember what happened that night,” he says seriously with a nod of his head. 

Dennis fights the grimace that spreads on his face. “You do?” He hesitantly asks. 

“Yeah! I mean, the memory’s a bit foggy. But like, I remember you pounded me good, dude. I definitely remember that.” Mac laughs obnoxiously while Dee groans and drops her head behind him. Completely oblivious, he continues, “You gave me some good dick, bro. But uh… friends probably shouldn’t bang friends.” He pulls a face and shrugs. “Let’s not complicate things, you know?”

Dennis watches him carefully. Mac’s relaxed, grinning face is in stark contrast to the anger he remembers seeing just a few days before. His loud laugh resonates throughout the near empty bar, but all Dennis hears in his head are slurred moans and soft whimpers. He remembers heavy, sluggish limbs moving against him, and the feeling of soft lips and warm skin. 

It was so easy to just take what he wanted. And the high he got off of it felt even better than putting his dick inside his best friend. It was so intoxicatingly good, that he could _almost_ convince himself that Mac was responsive and wanted it. 

“Right,” Dennis murmurs quietly. “Yeah. Definitely.”

“Look, we were both drunk, _both_ of us," Mac emphasizes carefully. "It happened, let's not point any fingers here, I’m over it. And… if I’m gonna be honest, Dave was kind of a douche anyway, so… like whatever,” Mac chuckles and rolls his eyes. He pockets his phone on the bar and quickly jumps to his feet. “Anyway, I’m about to meet up with this dude I met on Grindr. _Total_ beefcake. Way hotter than Dave. This guy’s a ten, for sure.”

There’s a sinking feeling settling in the pit of Dennis’ stomach as he slowly blinks. “Um… yeah, okay-”

Mac finishes off his beer in a single swig. “Wish me luck, bro!”

“Um, good… luck,” Dennis stumbles over his words as he frowns at the other man. “Are you drunk? It’s like… not even noon.” 

Mac pulls a face. “I had a few beers,” he says with a chuckle. “Come on, dude. We used to do this all the time. Hey, I’m heading out. But I’ll see you back at the apartment later?”

Dennis’ eyes snap up from the empty bottles on the bar. “What?” 

“Well, you’re moving back in, right?” Mac says it like it’s obvious. Like any other option is preposterous. “I mean, where else would you stay?”

“Yeah… right.” Dennis whispers, forcing a masquerade of a grin on his face. “I’ll… I’ll see you back at the apartment.”

“Alright,” Mac grins widely. “Later, dude!”

Dennis watches the other man walk out with solemn eyes. For days, he’d imagined the uphill struggle it would be to get Mac to come around. He’d gone over dozens of schemes in his head to get Mac _over_ it. He’d stressed and panicked, racking his brain for ways of manipulating the other man, to make him see that what Dennis had done was clearly for his own good. 

He never imagined this. Though, in hindsight, he realizes he shouldn’t be so surprised. Mac's ability to deceive himself is a force to be reckoned with. And now, his intense delusion is somehow more painful than if he were to hate him for the rest of his life.

“Goddamnit,” Dennis mutters under his breath.

“Back to normal, right?” Dee says softly, watching her brother. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Dennis doesn’t have the stones to answer her. 

Beside him, Charlie scoffs and shakes his head. “You bastard,” he murmurs, taking a heavy drink from his beer.

Dennis looks up in surprise just as Dee sends a glare Charlie’s way. But the other man doesn’t take the hint.

“Just because Mac isn’t pissed at you, doesn’t mean-”

“Charlie, don’t.” Dee says sharply, cutting him off. “Just let it go.”

“What? Are you serious, Dee?” Charlie shrieks and stands to his feet. “What, you’re not going to say anything at all?!”

Dennis is a silent bystander. He eyes shuffle between the two. Charlie is furious, and Dee looks torn between throwing more gas on the flames and giving up the fight because that would be the easier way out. 

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Frank chimes in. “Faggot probably enjoyed having a dick up his ass anyway, right?”

“Shut up, Frank!” Dee yells at him.

But that only sets Charlie off. “This is so messed up! I can’t handle this,” he shouts, raising his arms in opposition. He shakes his head angrily before turning and storming away. 

“Charlie!”

“No, fuck this!”

Dee shouts his name again. She frantically runs a hand through her hair before running around the bar after him. “Charlie!”

Dennis watches them go. For a moment, he thinks he’s alone until Frank speaks again.

“Don’t worry about Charlie. He’ll get over it.”

Dennis blinks and turns his gaze towards him. He frowns when he sees the older man pour himself a glass of scotch on the bar. “Should you be drinking, Frank? Aren’t you on meds?”

Frank gives him a wicked grin. “Those two are breakin’ up. Without Dee, Charlie will be back to huffing glue and playing Nightcrawlers in no time,” he says with a chuckle. “I can’t fucking wait!” He throws back the glass in a single gulp and lets out a heavy sigh of content. “Just like old times, huh?” 

Dennis grimaces. He doesn’t even bother trying to mask it on his face this time. He looks around the empty bar. Suddenly, it’s all just a bit too familiar. Everything’s back to normal. It’s hazy and dull and terribly gray. The lack of life around him makes him feel emptier than he’s felt in years.

But isn’t this what he wanted?

He comes back to Philly after two years away. Life is barely recognizable, and all he wants is for things to go back to the way they were before. And now, it seems like he’s gotten his wish.

He never expected it to be bittersweet.

As time passes and life goes on, he thinks he might have imagined the entire thing. Dee and Charlie make fun of each other in the harshest ways. Charlie calls her ugly and Dee pokes fun at his illiteracy. Frank is as cruel as ever. Mac is back to his old, obnoxious self. 

They all laugh and scheme and plot and nothing ever works in their favor, but they still have each other. They joke and drink, and sometimes Mac even slings his arm around his shoulders, chuckling as he always would. Dennis’ heart seizes at their closeness, but it never goes beyond that.

Life is back to normal.

Sometimes, whole days will go by without Dennis thinking about the night Mac said no to him, turning him down. The very same night, Dennis creaked open Mac's bedroom door and slipped inside. He took what he wanted because what he really wants is control.

Sometimes, Dennis thinks that night might have only been a dream. Things are so close to the way they were before, that he forgets. And it’s easy to lie to himself, to think that they are back to normal. 

Only one thing has changed. One thing that reminds him it wasn't all a dream.

Every night, without fail, Mac keeps his bedroom door locked.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi! ([x](http://winters-blue-children.tumblr.com))


End file.
